I just removed 2 dead trunks out of the 5 that came in the pot when i bought it. I was inspecting the plant and noticed bark missing on one of the trunks, so i felt it and it was mushy. I just carefully removed the wire holding the braid and pulled the dead trunks out without disturbing the roots from the other trunks(I hope). I kinda just snapped it off at the bottom. I did it today so we will see how it does in the coming days/weeks. I'm wondering if it was a mistake to just snap the trunk at the bottom and pull out the dead wood pieces?

Yes, to be clear, I'm not proposing cutting it down myself...I'm concerned about whoever cutting it down may have the upper part fall on them, which is what you guys are describing. I'm wondering if there are any other methods, other than a chainsaw, that can be used to fell the tree from a safe distance (higher than the height of the tree). If I could bring down the tree it would have no impact on anything, as it could fall in any direction with no damage. The only potential for damage would be if someone was parked under it when it just happened to have a piece fall, which is why I'd rather bring it down on purpose rather than at some random time. I guess I'm looking for a creative solution that can be done from 30+ feet away. I don't really care about the "mess" made once the tree is on the ground -- I can clean that up no problem.

Angie, Thanks so much! I'll tell you what I did in case anyone else ever needs to check the welfare of older nestlings. After my initial post, I went back out to look at the box to come up with some kind of strategy. When I saw a shiny, green fly near the hole, I knew I had to do something and fast! I got a deep bucket, a shallow dishpan, a wash rag, and two towels. I quietly approached the house from behind and plugged the hole with the wash rag. I then removed the entire house from the pole. I put the house down in the bucket and covered it with one of the towels. I set the dish pan right next to the bucket and covered it with the other towel. I pulled back the towel on the bucket just enough so that I could get my arm down to the box and also put my face down to the edge so I could see what I was doing. I tried not to leave any other openings and hoped that if they came flying or hopping out of the box, they'd land on the floor of the bucket or would hit my arm and face. I slowly opened the door (front opening box), and found three nestlings cowering inside. The smell was AWFUL, but at that point I couldn't see any actual signs of anything dead in there. I removed the nestlings one-by-one, examined them, and put them in the covered dish pan. They all seemed strong, were fully feathered, had stubby tails, and no longer had any sheathing on their feathers. All of their bellies were extremely messy from being down in the nasty mess of a nest, but other than that they looked good. I could hear them hopping and cheeping in the dishpan as I worked. I could see the remains of one nestling in the nest. The other one has either fledged or decomposed to the point that it wasn't recognizable. All five seemed healthy last Sunday morning, but it's been hot here so I guess it didn't take long for them to decompose to that point. I pulled out the old nest and replaced it with fresh grass that I pulled from the yard. I then reached my hand in the dish pan, under the towel, and picked up and replaced each nestling to the nest box, which was still down in the bucket. During this process, one did jump out of the house but landed on the floor of the bucket. Again, I tried to keep the bucket mostly covered with a towel so that they couldn't escape into the yard. Once I replaced all three, I closed the box and plugged the hole with the rag. I put the house back on the pole and waited five minutes or so before slowly and quietly removing the rag. I then moved off and watched to make sure none of them came out of the box. They stayed put, and within 10 minutes their dad was feeding them again. I know the box will still have some residual smell and that worries me. The pole is baffled, but I believe that a determined coon can get past that. I'm hoping that won't happen and that they'll fledge very soon. Once they leave, I will thoroughly wash the box and let it dry before replacing it. I'm hoping the male will find another mate and try again.

I don't know the reason, but I had one die last year. There were only two in the box, so I doubt a lack of food. They were both alive and fully feathered on the last nest check. I didn't realize one had died until after fledge time when I went to clean out the box. There were no signs of parasites or injury, so I guess sometimes it just happens.